Refrigerator condenser apparatus with funnel shaped flue



REFRIGERATOR CONDENSER APPARATUS WITH FUNNEL SHAPED FLUE Filed Feb. 21, 1966 tor &ro-* &by

United States Patent O 3,379,241 REFRIGERATOR CONDENSER APPARATUS WITH FUNNEL SHAPED FLUE Gerard Gau, Clamart, France, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Micl., a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 21, 1966, Ser. No. 529,@21 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Apr. 15, 1965, 16,185/ 65 1 claim. (CI. 165-53) In preferred form, a refrigerator condenser apparatus including a plate located rearwardly and obliquely to the rear wall of a refrigerator, the plate including side flanges connecting it to the rear wall of the refrigerator and forming with the rear wall of the refrigerator and the condenser plate a funnel shaped fiue, a refrigerant tubing of sinusoidal form secured on the condenser plate of a plurality of U-shaped channel members each including louvred side flanges disposed within the funnel shaped ue space, said plate being louvred between each of the U-shaped channels to provide interchange between the draft in the funnel shaped flue and convectve Currents exteriorly of the plate side of the flue.

This invention relates to heat exchangers, such as are used as condensers in refrigerator cooling units.

A -heat exchanger according to the invention comprises a series of interconnected tubes secured in grooves of a common plate and a series of U-shaped channel mernbers secured to the plate along their webs which envelop the exposed surfaces of the tubes, the parts of the plate intermediate adjacent channel members being louvred for airflow.

The tubes can be located in grooves either in the plate, or in the webs, or partly in both plate and Webs.

Preferably, the flanges of the U-shaped channel members are also louvred for airow. The outermost flanges of the end channel members may be extended to form mountings for attaching the heat exchanger to an apparatus. The common plate may be of a metal or plastics.

Advantageously, the series of interconnected tubes is formed from one continuous tube.

The scope of the monopoly is dened by the appended claim; the invention and how it may be performed are hereinafter particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE l is a perspective rear view of a -ref'igerator cabinet showing a condenser according to the invention mounted on it;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective front view, on a larger scale, of the top part of the condenser showing the common plate and a channel member with louvres;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of one unit of the condenser, with the tube located partly in a groove in the common plate and partly in a groove in a channel member;

FIGURE 4 is a similar plan of a modification, with the tube located almost wholly in a groove in a channel member;

FIGURE 5 is a similar plan of a further modification, with the tube located almost wholly in a groove in the common plate; and

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of a refrigerator cabinet rear showing a condenser according to another embodiment of the invention.

The application of the invention to the condenser of a refrigerator will now be described in detail. The refrigerator 10, has a conventional cabinet and compression refrigeration system, and needs no further description.

In the Construction shown in FIGURES 2 and 3 the condenser 12 comprises a single continuous length of tubing 14 formed into a series of equal parallel straight lengtls, lying in the same plane, and interconnected by reverse bends 16. These parallel straight lengths are first fitted into similarly spaced part-circular grooves 18 formed in a thin sheet metal plate 20. The grooves extend the full length of the plate, which is subst-antially the same length as the parallel straight lengths of tubing. A series of U- shaped channel members 22, each having a part-circular groove 24 extending along the length of its web is then spot-welded to the plate. Thus, as each channel member is spot-welded to the plate its own groove encloses the exposed surface of the tubing fitted in the part-circular groove of the plate; and the interfitting of the groove of the channel member with the tubing locates each channel member on the metal plate. The plate 20 and the flanges 25 of the channel members 22 have louvres 26, 28 (FIG- URE 2), respectively. By virtue of this Construction the area of metal in contact with the tubing is increased, and this enhances the heat transfer eificiency of the unit. The condenser is attached to and spaced from the rear wall of the refrigerator by brackets 30.

In a modified form of the invention as seen in FIGURE 6, elements like those in FIGURE 1 are shown with like reference numerals including a subscript a. In this arrangement, the condenser is secured to the refrigerator rear wall by extension of the outer side flanges 31 of the end channel members. These extended flanges thus form side walls between the refrigerator rear wall and the condenser so that airflow upwardly over the condenser is funnelied upwardly through the enclosed lue space 33` so formed.

The condenser is mounted obliquely, with its bottom end Closer to the refrigerator rear wall than its top end as shown in FIGURE 1. By this arrangement an enhanced airflow over the condenser is achieved, and the position of the condenser top ensures that there is always adequate space for -airflow over the condenser even though the refrigerator may be placed against a wall.

In one modification, shown in FIGURE 4, of the condenser Construction the tubing 14 is located almost wholly within a semi-circular groove 32 in channel member 22 which is spot-welded to the plate 20 which in this case is flat.

In a further modification, shown in FIGURE 5, the tubing 14 is located almost wholly within a semi-circular groove 34 in the plate 20 and the channel member 22 has a flat web which is spot-welded to the plate and overlies the tubing.

I claim:

1. A refrigerant condensing apparatus comprising a refrigerator cabinet having a flat vertically extending rear wall, a condenser plate having flanges on either side thereof forming side walls connecting said rear wall and said condenser plate, said side walls each having a width at its top greater than the width at its bottom to support said condenser plate at an inclination with respect to the rear -w-all, said rear wall, side walls, and said plate enclosing an upwardly directed funnel shaped flue space open at the 'bottom of said plate and at the top thereof, a plurality of interconnecting tubes Contacting said plate, a plurality of U-shaped channel members having a web portion thereon in juxtaposition with said plate and secured thereto to clamp said tube between said flange and said plate at the inside surface thereof, each of said pluralities of U- shaped channels extending throughout substantially the full height of said plate and including spaced apart flanges therein disposed interiorly of said flue space, each of said flanges of the channel members having louvers therein for passage of air flow produced by upward drafts in said flue space, said plate having portions thereon intermediate said channel members with a second plurality of louvers therein for directing convectve air Currents exteriorly of said fine space into mixed air flow relationship &379241 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS LithgoW et al. 62-456 Atchson 62-456 Harris 165-171 X Sandberg 165--53 X 4 2,705,877 4/1955 King 165-53 2,823,903 2/1958 Collins 165-171 X FOREIGN PATENTS 190,073 6/1957 Austria. %2,895 10/ 1949 Switzerland.

ROBERT A. OLEARY, Primay Exam'er.

M. A. ANTONAKAS, Assistant Examicr. 

1. A REFRIGERANT CONDENSING APPARATUS COMPRISING A REFRIGERATOR CABINET HAVING A FLAT VERTICALLY EXTENDING REAR WALL, A CONDENSER PLATE HAVING FLANGES ON EITHER, SIDE THEREOF FORMING SIDE WALLS CONNECTING SAID REAR WALL AND SAID CONDENSER PLATE, SAID SIDE WALLS EACH HAVING A WIDTH AT ITS TOP GREATER THAN THE WIDTH AT ITS BOTTOM TO SUPPORT SAID CONDENSER PLATE AT AN INCLINATION WITH RESPECT TO THE REAR WALL, SAID REAR WALL, SIDE WALLS, AND SAID PLATE ENCLOSING AN UPWARDLY DIRECTED FUNNEL SHAPED FLUE SPACE OPEN AT THE BOTTOM OF SAID PLATE AND AT THE TOP THEREOF, A PLURALITY OF INTERCONNECTING TUBES CONTACTING SAID PLATE, A PLURALITY OF U-SHAPED CHANNEL MEMBERS HAVING A WEB PORTION THEREON IN JUXTAPOSITION WITH SAID PLATE AND SECURED THERETO TO CLAMP SAID TUBE BETWEEN SAID FLANGE AND SAID PLATE AT THE INSIDE SURFACE THEREOF, EACH OF SAID PLURALITIES OF USHAPED CHANNELS EXTENDING THROUGHOUT SUBSTANTIALLY THE FULL HEIGHT OF SAID PLATE AND INCLUDING SPACED APART FLANGES THEREIN DISPOSED INTERIORLY OF SAID FLUE SPACE, EACH OF SAID FLANGES OF THE CHANNEL MEMBERS HAVING LOUVERS THERE- 